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Appearance & Personality

Minka is a lean and wiry mixblood drow with grey eyes and grey hair. He wears his hair in a long wrapped ponytail. He is a stoic man, grim and yet possessed of a strong sense of duty and honor. His cold demeanor is a direct result of the traumas he has suffered; both during the Nidraa'chal War and afterwards in the Black Dragon Tavern. That said, his demeanor is much warmer to his fellow surviving Dutan'vir. This is especially the case with Sker'ligr, with whom he shares a close friendship.

Biography - Background

Prior to the story, Minka was among the Dutan'vir who participated in Storr's final charge against the Nidraa'chal forces.[1] One of the few surviving members of the assault, he was captured and sold into slavery as one of Lady Irena's gladiators at the Black Dragon Tavern.[2] One of his fellow slaves was a Dutan'vir, who informed him of the ransacking of their former home. This woman would eventually commit suicide, leaving Minka alone in the horrors of the pit. Though he too contemplated suicide, his pure hatred for Irena kept him driven and focused.

Biography - Arc I

Black Dragon Tavern

Minka made his first appearance in the story in the year 1098 Moonless Age, more than 15 years after the conclusion of the Nidraa'chal War. He was pitted in a gladiatorial match against Ariel and Vaelia, armed with only a club and shield. Outnumbered two-to-one, Minka was lightly wounded by Ariel as she managed to land both a superficial cut as well as a bite to his arm. Retaliating with a fierce kick, he wa able to knock Ariel down and cause her to drop her sword. With Vaelia more concerned with protecting the disoriented Ariel, Minka stopped to pick up the latter's sword. Completely ignoring his opponents, he opted to throw the sword at his hated owner, the blade lodging in her chair mere inches from her head. Shaken and infuriated, Lady Irena canceled the bout immediately and ordered Minka placed in the lowest level of the slave pit.

Fortunately for Minka, his slavery came to an end as Irena entered into conflict with Ariel and her Fallen Legion guards, most notably Laele'aell herself. Fleeing the carnage, Irena opened the cells to many of the gladiators in a desperate bid to kill or delay her pursuers. Unwittingly, she came before the cell of Minka and released him as well. Free at last, Minka knocked his former master to the ground, coldly informing her that it was her "turn" to play the game.

Several days later, Minka had become the new owner of The Black Dragon. As he coldly watched his former master pit against a Dragon in the very arena she had forced him to fight within for so many, Sarghress forces arrived to investigate the area. At the head of this force was none other than Sker'ligr, his old friend and comrade-in-arms. As the pair recounted their experiences since the war, Sker brought up the status of the surviving remnants of the Dutan'vir. The pair then began to form the idea of reforming the clan within the ranks of the Sarghress.

The Three Exiles

Much later, both Minka and Sker became aware of Mikilu's survival. The three surviving clan leaders met in the Canyons quarters, near the ruins of the Dutan'vir Fortress.[4] As Mikilu noted the presence of mercenaries squatting in their ancestral home, Minka pledged to build an army of liberated slaves to take the fortress back. However, Sker instead suggested manipulating the Sarghress into sending an expedition. Leaving the task of reclaiming the fortress to their capable hands, Mikilu departed to continue her efforts against Snadhya'rune.

Biography - Arc II

Notable Quotes

"I have waited fifteen years, Irena. Now it's your turn to play the game."[5] -Free at last to take his revenge on his former captor.

"I thought I was the last. If I died, the Dutan'vir would die with me. That is how they taunted me. And that is how they kept me alive."[6] -Recounting his torment in the pits.